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Seven years ago I purchased a cheap steel (heavy!) mountain bike for $100something from Wal Mart when I was living temporarily in Florida... and left it there when I moved a few months later.
Two summers ago I visited one of our three local bike shops and purchased a Trek 7.2FX for about $400. I was struck immediately by how much lighter this bike was, with an aluminum frame and no suspension. I started cycling the four miles each way to and from our local transit center as part of my commute to work and kept it up pretty consistently through the summer, fall and spring.
After a year of "research" on bike commuting blogs and forums, I set my heart on getting the extremely versatile Surly Crosscheck, which I picked up from the other local bike shop a week ago. That trip to the shop cost me about $1,300, between the bike, clipless pedals and shoes (a first) and some other accessories (rear rack, two bottle cages and a bell).
I love this bike! The pedals have taken some getting used to (only a couple of near falls) but overall the upgrade has been totally worth it. Riding for me feels fun, exciting and liberating, and even moreso on my new ride. At the end of this month I'm doing my first long(er) distance ride, 45 miles in the LiveStrong Challenge. I am nervous about going that far—my "training" hasn't yet amounted to distances much over 15 miles yet and there's not much time left—but I'm still excited.
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If one million people replaced a two mile car trip once a week with a bike ride, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 50,000 tons per year. If one out of ten car commuters switched to a bike, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 25.4 million tons per year. [2milechallenge.com]
Quote:
Originally Posted by roachboy
it's better if you can ride without having to wonder if the guy in the car behind you is a sociopath, i find.
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